Thanks to the generosity of local clubs, the business community and a host of volunteers, Serving People Aross Neighborhoods (SPAN) will soon have a new, larger food pantry and expanded office space.

SPAN, located behind Our Shepherd Lutheran Church, serves about 3,000 individuals and families in need of food and monetary assistance in most parts of Anne Arundel County.

Dona Weingarten, the new board president, praised Ted Mathison as a key figure in keeping the project moving forward. Mathison is the former board president.

The porch on the side of the house is currently being transformed into additional space for food storage. Weingarten said a SPAN volunteer, who asked to remain anonymous, donated $22,000 to the expansion.

"We'll be able to serve clients better," Weingarten said of the expansion.

According to SPAN's newsletter, contractor Patrick Pyles recruited most of the volunteer labor and donated building materials.

Local Boy Scout Troop 339 along with their parents and other volunteers took on the enormous task of moving all of the canned goods in the basement to a trailer for temporary storage. This will allow for the installation of fire code gypsum board in the basement ceiling. Some members of Cub Scout Pack 994 and Boy Scout Troop 918 also helped, according to the newsletter.

The expansion will be finished this summer.